Archaeology
by Mrs RiSpiz
Summary: Archaeology is a series of little bits and pieces exploring the relationship of Alister and Zip. I suppose it can be slash, or a very close friendship... with slashy undertones, overtones and inbetweentones. Warning for chapters that contain darker themes.
1. Archaeology

Ri – I got this idea sometime around midnight and _had_ to write it down. I spent the rest of the night playing Tetris, see if you can beat 95530, yep, I suck, a whole night and that was my highest score ~ . Well beginneth mine story, and cuteness ensues!

**Archaeology**

_Archaeology - __the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artefacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, esp. those that have been excavated._

Zip woke to a strange aching in his back, one that threw him completely off guard because since the purchase of his new mattress in Croft Manor, nights had been utter bliss. A few moments of shifting to find he was devoid of the usual comfort of his own bed, his eyes snapped open, all remnants of sleep giving way to cold, hard reality.

He was on a couch.

A quick search with his hands confirmed this, and Zip was immediately thrown into confusion. Sitting up slowly, rolling his shoulders to work out the unwanted cricks, he took a quick look around. He was indeed in Croft Manor still, in the homely lounge in the large main hall, and although primarily this was a good thing, the affirmation of his location did nothing to settle his confusion.

For one, where was his bed, and, most importantly, why wasn't he in it?

Zip made sure to stretch in his usual cat-like way before standing, a hand rubbing at his spine as it complained. But as he stood, the rug that had been covering him as he slept fell to the floor, and Zip was immensely glad to find himself wearing boxers because the thought of Alister, who was an early bird, walking down the stairs and seeing him in his birthday suit was not one he wanted popping up every time he saw the book geek.

Berating himself a little for not checking he was wearing some form of clothing before standing, as you always should, really, he walked over to his station where many computers and other technological gismos sat humming contentedly at him.

"Morning beautiful," he smiled at them before noticing a new message in his inbox. Quickly moving to the screen, he double clicked it, and a message box sprang open.

"_Zip, I have to be in Brussels for 8:00 for a meeting contact me at 10:00, I have work for you boys if you're not too busy._

_Lara"_

Eyes widening a little, Zip hastily checked his watch and relaxed a little to see it only read 08:30.

8:30! That meant he could and should still be in bed for at least another 30 minutes. With that in mind, all thought of what tedious work the day may have in store for him dissipated as he walked through the computer room to a door that led to his own bedroom.

Licking his lips and yawning widely, he pushed the door open, stepped into his room revelling in the familiarity and disarray. That was, until his eyes fell on the bed and its current occupier.

This was the source of his previous discomfort? The reason he had slept on a couch!

Zip couldn't believe it, but as blue eyes fluttered open, he found himself drawn into their depths, captivated by the strange, tranquil innocence that they held.

Alister's blush deepened as he came slowly yet fully to the awareness of the apparent non existence of apparel under the covers, and was more than a little troubled by the look Zip had just adopted as he bashfully pulled the covers closer to him.

"Zip," Alister squeaked and nervously pulled the covers right up to his chin as the dark man stepped closer to the bed, nothing but curiosity lighting his searching gaze. "Zip, you said you wouldn't. You did promise."

This stopped him as he looked into Alister's pleading eyes.

Yes, the night before he had promised.

He was surprised he had stopped, considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed combined with the passionate hunger to explore the, as of yet, unexplored.

Zip let himself smile goofily as he jumped onto the bed causing the Englishman to let out a small squeak. Giving Alister the 'not gonna touch' sign as he settled back, happily content as Alister timidly moved closer to him, he thought for a moment about Lara and her never ending passion to discover the undiscovered. However interesting Lara's endeavours might be, Zip could safely announce with infinite certainty that he preferred archaeology of a different nature; the one in his arms.

Ri- REPOSTING HAS RECOMMENCED


	2. Bad Nightmares

Ri – I wasn't intending to do anymore with this, but I had editing, so reconsidered XD

**Bad Nightmares**

He clung desperately to the old, broken ladder, trying to flatten himself against it to eliminate the overwhelming sense of dread he felt when he looked down. The ground was far below him now, and seemed to be moving further away, as did the ledge he was so desperately trying to reach. Slowly reaching a shaking hand higher, he grabbed the step above him and held on in a death grip as he forced his aching body up. Blood from the gash he had received earlier as he and Lara had run from the sphinx chamber had started to trickle down his back. He bitterly tried not to think about how hopeless his current situation was.

Mercenaries, doing some "archaeology" of their own, had found them just as Lara had found the ruby amulet, and he had barely shouted a warning when they pulled out their guns and madness had ensued. He had tried to follow Lara, but the sound of shouts and guns being fired was an entirely new experience to him. The sheer fear it evoked played a great part in his body's lack of cooperation as he struggled to keep up with the tomb raider, stumbling far too often for a man fleeing with death on his very heals. Then he had tripped, his mind screaming in panic as his arms had flown out, but with nothing to hold on to the ground met him with unforgiving force and his momentum carried him for a bit. He caught his arm on a jagged rock during the fall causing him to shout out at the impact; Lara, not hearing his shout, had continued not realising that he was no longer behind her.

Once he had fallen behind, then he began to truly panic, drawing on blind adrenaline to keep moving in what he was sure was the right direction. Reasonably sure, that was, until he found himself cornered with only one possible escape; up. He had begun the climb, and very quickly concluded that this was a very bad idea.

Now he hung a good fifty feet above the ground, trying his best to focus only on his intended destination, rather than the detour he knew he would end up taking if he lost his grip. He tried to move robotically, a slow but steady pace as the jutting ledge loomed closer.

The closer he was, the more he became aware of the decrepit state of the ladder he was trusting his life to. His breath was beginning to come out a bit sharper now as his mind slipped further into dread, the ache in his body burning his energy as much as the exertion of the climb. He was so close to the top now, but as he gripped the next step and trusted his weight to it, he felt it break in his fist. Moving too quickly, he fumbled as his footing slipped and the breath caught in his throat.

Blind panic as he felt himself falling; he grabbed out for anything to slow his descent, and found nothing but air. There was a moment of clarity as he saw his death rushing towards him before he hit the ground.

It took a moment for him to realise he was still alive, but breathing was difficult, and he discovered he could no longer move his arms. He whimpered as he knew that it wouldn't be long before the pain of his injuries was going to crash upon him, and worse still, he was sure that he had seen movement. As he listened to the sound of voices drawing nearer, he was only dimly aware that they were the mercenaries he had been trying to escape, and he smiled strangely as one of them loomed ominously over him.

"Despierte!"

He blinked tiredly, and the mercenary made some fast movements, too quick for his unfocused eyes. _My glasses..._ Unsure of what was happening as everything around him seemed to shift; he was all too aware of the sound of gun being cocked.

*bang*

He shot upright, his eyes flying open, mind panicking at the eternity of blindness before his eyes adjusted to the dim light of his bedroom. Even as the disorientation of sleep dissipated and he recognised the familiar surroundings, he still refused to close his eyes, not wanting anything more than to lie where he was, snug and safe.

He breathed in deeply, taking a moment to revel in how easy the air entered and exited his lungs, and all of sudden he became aware of how dry his throat was. Not only that, but he could feel a trail of tightness down his cheeks and his eyes sore.

Slowly, trying to be quiet and cause as little disturbance as possible, he drew back the bed cover and would have swung his legs over the side and stood, but something stopped him.

Zip tightened his grip around Alister's waist, and pulled him back onto the bed, pinning him on his back. And Alister, after making a meek sound of protest, just lay there.

"You were crying."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I tried."

Zip rolled over a little so he was now on top of Alister, feeling more than a little turned on by the stunning pout Alister was giving him.

"Didn't try very hard..."

"Possibly not."

"Why?"

Alister tried to sit up, but that was near impossible with the position Zip had taken on top of him, so he opted instead to pull an upset face which made Zip grin slyly and lean in closer.

"Because you were having a nightmare."

"All the more reason to wake me!"

"Not necessarily."

Alister frowned, genuinely upset and he tried to push Zip off him, but the hacker was stronger, and quickly took hold of his wrists, letting out a little laugh as he held Alister's arms down above his head. But this just served to distress Alister more.

"It's not funny, Zip! It was horrible! What do you mean, not necessarily?"

"Well, if you didn't have nightmares..."

"What? I would get peaceful sleep?"

Zip now closed the distance and whispered right into Alister's ear.

"I wouldn't get to comfort you."

And with that, he softly kissed the man beneath him.

Alister retaliated, trying to pull back in mock anger, but messages must have become mixed up in his brain, because he found himself kissing Zip back. For a moment, he began to worry, though he was unsure whether his fear was that Zip would leave it at that and go back to sleep, or how far Zip would take it if he let it happen. However, he moaned his dissatisfaction as Zip moved away, and for a minute just lay there before a hand whipped out to stop Zip moving any further.

"Zip?"

"Yes, Alister?"

"I had a really bad nightmare."

Ri- Now, I know in the review I put "very close friendship" and I question my reasoning at the point of typing that. Do friends kiss often? Hah.


	3. The Fact

Ri – First off I am proud to announce that the inspiration for this one came from Dapling :D Awesome work girl. Apart from that, this one is daft.

**The Fact**

It was a good three hours after midday, and there was no sun peeking through the blanket of thick, grey rain clouds that cluttered the sky. For Alister, it had been three hours of research and writing as he tried to work out what the objects were that Lara had brought back from Italy, when and where they were from, and he was also trying to decipher the inscriptions on two large stone tablets that Lara had photographed. He enjoyed this, the quiet of the library, the tranquillity providing just the right atmosphere for an inquisitive, creative and deductive mind to work, surrounded by great volumes of text that lay at his disposal to uncover the mysteries of whatever fine artefact Lara had brought to him.

He was in his element, jotting down quick notes as he picked up on similarities between the text before him, and other languages of the ancient world, often jumping up to go in search of another book that would quickly be devoured for the information. This was how imagined, if such a place existed, heaven would be.

All that was shattered as the door to the library opened abruptly, and Alister looked up, watching his impending doom stalk towards him. Trying his best to ignore the other man as he slowly sauntered across the library, taking his time as though he had nothing better to do than be in this room at this time with this one human in particular. As he stopped in front of the desk, Alister continued reading through a section from a large book on the Roman Empire, sure he had found the origin of the strange lamp, according to the text. Zip leant on the desk casually, and although he could feel the American's eyes studying him, Alister refused to look up, all too aware of the tense silence that waited to be broken, and before long, yet too soon, it was.

"So, you figure this thing out yet?" Zip piped up, picking up a pencil from the desk and twirling it in his fingers.

"I think I'm onto something," Alister replied in what he hoped was a tone of voice that did not invite further conversation.

A futile task he realised, as Zip was the offending distraction, who either ignored or simply did not understand the meaning of phrases such as "Do not disturb" and "silence".

"Come on, you've been working on that for hours," he bent over and ruffled Alister's hair. "How 'bout a break."

"Zip, I really need to concentrate, I think I've found it" he replied, now becoming more than a little irritated at the interruption as his concentration was slipping.

Zip rolled his eyes, and looked around, "It's so dull in here." He dropped the pencil back on the desk and started walking around, aware that Alister was watching him, and he stepped behind the desk, noticing with a smirk how the brunette tensed as he did so. Zip grinned as he leaned over his shoulder to take a look at the work, deliberately invading the personal space Alister so dutifully insisted he needed. "How do you concentrate in here?"

"With great difficulty, it would seem," Alister replied stiffly, satisfied Zip was only looking, he continued running through the page, jotting notes.

"Hey, you're not bad at drawing, either," Zip reached out to turn the sketch for a better view, sounding impressed, but as he withdrew his hand, his arm wrapped itself around Alister's chest, grinning at the half hearted protest he received.

"What? I changed my mind; it's not dull in here!"

"Zip, please, I really need to get this done," Alister huffed. In response, Zip took his glasses, and Alister just sighed in defeat.

"Hey," Zip grinned as he sat on the desk and tried to get Alister to look at him. "You've been working a long time. It's not a crime to take a break. You're gonna do yourself in."

Alister glared him, "Either that, or you are."

"Not a bad prospect!" Zip's grin widened as he shifted, trying to get one leg on either side of Alister without kicking him in the face, and he made himself comfortable in his new seat on the desk. "Phew, it is hot in here," he said loudly, taking off his shirt in one swift move, letting it drop to the floor. He laughed at how red Alister was turning. The bookworm noticed, and stood quickly, turning away as his face burned.

"Zip, I told you. I need to get this done for Lara, urgently."

He heard Zip stop laughing, and took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. What was wrong with him? He was a full grown man, why was he being so immature? Alister cringed mentally as his train of thought seemed to catch on 'full grown man' and shook his head, willing all bad thoughts to leave, and they did, but only to be replaced by visual imagery. Luckily, the surge of embarrassment and horror he felt was dwarfed by the shock at the great crashing sound that suddenly emanated from behind him.

He spun round, eyes wide in terror, to find all his books on the floor, and his eyes grew wider still at the nonchalant Zip who just raised an eyebrow at him. "You have a poltergeist in here?"

"Zip, my work," Alister gasped, running to the fallen books and papers, gathering them up almost tenderly, carefully smoothing out pages before piling them with irrational neatness. Zip watched him closely, eyes tracing his form, analysing every movement as he made himself comfy once more on the desk.

Alister stood, books cradled in one arm, and he held Zip's top in the other hand. "Er, do you want this back?"

Zip grinned at how this seemed to be phrased as a question. "Do you want me to?"

Alister sighed in exasperation. "I have work to do. Stop playing around."

"I thought you were taking a break," Zip said, leaning back to lie on the desk, propping his head up on his hand, and he could see Alister fumble, giving in to delicious temptation as he stepped slowly towards the desk as though taking in the sight. Then in a shocking twist, the Englishman snatched his glasses up from the side.

"Grow up Zip." And with that, he turned and left the library, which was interesting, Zip mused. Alister leaving the library was like a vampire venturing outside during daylight.

Zip waited a while, making sure Alister wasn't coming back before letting out sigh, a little disappointed things hadn't quite gone as planned. He stood and left, making his way back to his beloved computers.

In the main hall was Lara, and she watched him approach with a raised eyebrow.

"New fashion statement Zip?" she asked lightly.

"Yeah, you can join in if you like."

Lara let out a laugh and started walking away. "I have to go out to see the curator. I don't think this new fashion will sink in too well with the professors at the university."

"I doubt that!"

Zip settled in his chair and started tapping away. He paused for a moment, looking up to see Winston throw him one of his many reproving glances, and he leaned back, saying humorously, "Yeah, you may think that, but it was Alister that walked off with meh shirt."

TRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTR

It was growing darker outside, although not from the promised storm, rather that the sun was sinking as late afternoon became evening. Zip was sat at his computer typing wildly, creating the illusion that he was working hard. Which he was, he just had to wait for a new security programme to download, and he wasn't only updating his blog, he kept switching between that and a report Lara wanted him to type up.

Alister walked in, a wad of paper in his hands.

"Have you seen Lara?" he asked simply.

"Uh-uh," Zip replied, not even looking at Alister.

"Damn," he muttered to himself, looking behind him, hoping she would be standing there. Unsure what to do, he just stood, watching Zip type. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and he smirked.

He put the papers down to one side.

"Hmm, what were you saying before?" Alister asked with a soft, innocence filled voice that seemed to lick at Zip's ears. He stopped typing and chose instead to listen. "About working too hard?"

Zip looked from Alister to the report he was typing, and back again. "I'm meant to finish this today." Zip wasn't Alister, he would choose object of interest over work any day. Unfortunately, this particular report was important to Lara. Alister made no other move, so Zip sighed in disappointment and turned reluctantly back to the computer screen.

Alister bit his lip nervously, cursing himself before quickly unbuttoning half way down his shirt. "It's stuffy in here, all these computers..." he stood there awkwardly, shirt now hanging open, wondering if Zip had heard him, and beginning to feel more ridiculous as each second passed. "Erm, Zip..."

"Just a minute Alister," he replied typing slowly, and although Alister couldn't see, he was grinning stupidly having caught on to what the Englishman was doing, enjoying the view from what was reflected on the screen.

"Zip, all this staring at the computer screen can't be good for your eyes," Alister said smoothly, taking a daring step forward and turning Zip to face him.

Zip just gave him a blank stare as though not understanding. "So, I'll get glasses. Like yours, but cooler. Shades'll look good on me." This forced disinterest was made so much harder as his eyes screamed to search Alister's bared chest.

"How 'bout a break" Alister said in his most suggestive tone of voice, hooking his thumbs in the waist of his trousers.

It seemed not to reach Zip "What are you implying?"

This was enough for Alister who felt stupid as it was. He threw up his hands in defeat and turned to leave. "You are intolerable!" But as he tried to step forwards, Zip's arms encircled his waist and he was pulled back. For a second he thought he was going to fall, but found himself sitting on Zip's lap. Zip himself was grinning cheekily at him.

"Is that a fact?"

"You're not doing much to...ah, prove otherwise."

"Yeah? I want to know, that thing with the pants." His eyes flickered down and Alister blushed. "Would you have really...?"

He was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

They looked up. Lara stood there looking very amused. "Working hard boys."

"Oh, um, Lara...?" Alister began awkwardly.

Zip however did not fumble. "Very."

Lara nodded with a knowing smile and began to walk away. As she did, Zip took Alister's face in his hands and planted a big kiss on his lips before tipping him onto the floor. Alister sat there, turning very red as Zip got up and crossed the room, grabbed his sticky notes and scribbled something onto one, tearing it off and sticking it to one of the monitor screens.

He returned to his seat as Alister stood, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He hastily picked up the papers as the sounds of Zip's tapping away reached his ears, but before rushing off after Lara, he took a quick look at the new note and smiled.

"_Cancel order for new chairs."_

Ri- Wow, this sucks. *giggling mess* Watch me CARE!


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